In floor Motorcycle Lift

I know it's been done before so nothing new, but I've been putting this off for a while and finally got 'er done last week.




A few years back I picked up a used lift from a buddy and promptly said "Why did I wait so long?" well now I'm saying it again. So nice not to have to push a 800lb bike up on a 8" platform, much less trip over the thing all the time. Clean simple and out of the way.

First I sold my old lift to another buddy and got a K&L MC625R. The old lift was 7" lowered 32" raised which would put it at 25" once recessed. Not enough. The new one ranges from 8" to 41" leaving a good 33" topped out and it's rated for 1750 lb and has drop outs on both ends. Perfect.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Now for the dirty work...here's how it went.

Find the spot. Centered between the garage doors so a project can sit there without taking up an entire bay.



Assemble all materials



Lay it out with marker and pre drill the corners with a hilti to avoid having to over cut the corners.



Enlist the help of a buddy for a morning and start cutting.



First piece is the hardest, after that it gets much easier.





Finish the hole and grind/chip out the corners.



Drop form boards in the hole and start removing years of compacted dirt.



Dirt removed and boards secured 1/8" below grade with split drives.



Screed board set to 1/16" greater than lowered lift height.



15 bags mixed dumped and leveled out. This allowed for the slope to the floor drain to remain the same in the hole and keep one corner of the lift from sticking up above finished grade. That'd be me on the right.



Drilled a hole under the workbench for the air line and made a little guide to keep the pipe in alignment. Drilled another hole in the form board between the two slabs.



Drove it in a foot at a time, worked it free and dumped the dirt until reaching the penetration. First attempt hit a small low point in the upper slab.



Tied a bit of paper towel to some twine and sucked it up through the existing slab with the shop vac. Pulled the air line back through and screwed it into the lift.



Drop llift in and trim hole with a second 2X4 then cap with some 3x3x1/8" diamond plate which is now flush thanks to leaving the forms 1/8" low. Mount controls under the workbench.



Sit back, enjoy a cold one and order up some bike parts aka thebox full of Progressive Suspension.



Voila!

Sweet setup. Motivates me to do my lift I started when I poured the slab but never got back to.

Nice work.
This is one project I want to do to my shop some day. Not a specific motorcycle lift but an in floor lift two pad set up. Lots of options for more than a vehicle or motorcycle use. A work platform etc...
These threads help out alot. Thanks

Looks great. I did something very similar with a K&L lift table as well. While I didn't like the added cost of doing the concrete up front at the time, I was glad I did after all was said and done.

Nice lift. That should work out great for you.

Clean install for sure. I dont see where the new pour is tied into the slab though. How thick is the new pad?

kraftomatic said:

Looks great. I did something very similar with a K&L lift table as well. While I didn't like the added cost of doing the concrete up front at the time, I was glad I did after all was said and done.

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And it looks great. I commented over in your thread. Very nice use of epoxy to tidy things up. I am very impressed with the quality of the K&L stuff.

How does your unit release for lowering? looks the same as mine. Lift the crossbar with your toe? I attached a length of coated cable to the crossbar, then the upper end to the lift at just the right length to allow the top safety catch to engage. But another inch will release the safety. Works slick.

BRIANBB said:

Clean install for sure. I dont see where the new pour is tied into the slab though. How thick is the new pad?

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The dirt was very compact. Forms were tied to the slab with split drive anchors. Both slabs are 4.5 -5".

Very nice, I plan to add one ......one of these days.......

Funny looking ZRX......

very nice.

I know it has only been a week but would you still place it where you did?

hopefully one day I will get one and do the same.

I had one in my previous shop. It was formed into place when the floor was poured. An angle iron frame was set even with the floor, and a lip was provided a quarter inch down inside the frame perimeter. The lift was installed, then a quarter inch steel top was attached so that when the lift was down, the plate landed on the lip and the top of the plate was flush with the floor. This kept small objects from dropping through when the lift was down. My unit was electro-hydraulic, so I had a pendant control on a cord reel to allow walking around the lift as it was raised or lowered. There was a beeper installed as a toe alert when lowering. Lift-up u-bolt tiedowns were incorporated around the perimeter of the top to strap bikes down, and a quick removal wheel stop rounded out the package. When I sold my shop to a friend, he traded a larger scissor lift if I let him keep the old one. The new one is 3,500 lbs capacity, and about 3 by 6 feet in size. It will be installed in my present shop.

Awesome, thanks for the write up. Looking to do this soon in my garage. Wondering if I can though....no drain in my shop as it was built without.

good thread, my garage will have atleast one of these set up!

Very nice set up...I now wish I would have accounted for that when my slab got poured...

matthew_turner said:

I know it has only been a week but would you still place it where you did?

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Yep. there's a 2' wide column between the garage doors. Lift is 30" wide. Can park the wife's car on one side and my crew cab on the other. It's far enough forward that I can open the doors without having to be careful. Had the possibility of hail the other day, wheeled the cages right in.

OccupantRJ said:

I had one in my previous shop. It was formed into place when the floor was poured. An angle iron frame was set even with the floor, and a lip was provided a quarter inch down inside the frame perimeter. The lift was installed, then a quarter inch steel top was attached so that when the lift was down, the plate landed on the lip and the top of the plate was flush with the floor. This kept small objects from dropping through when the lift was down. My unit was electro-hydraulic, so I had a pendant control on a cord reel to allow walking around the lift as it was raised or lowered. There was a beeper installed as a toe alert when lowering. Lift-up u-bolt tiedowns were incorporated around the perimeter of the top to strap bikes down, and a quick removal wheel stop rounded out the package. When I sold my shop to a friend, he traded a larger scissor lift if I let him keep the old one. The new one is 3,500 lbs capacity, and about 3 by 6 feet in size. It will be installed in my present shop.

Click to expand...

Nice. I like the idea of lift up U bolts. The quick removal chock was another selling point for the K&L. They now make a hyd unit that uses a vertical cylinder. Rep said it was something like a 9" diameter hole, 48" deep....or thereabouts...and it would swivel. I'm sure you've seen this thread post 883-4

TAftonomos said:

Awesome, thanks for the write up. Looking to do this soon in my garage. Wondering if I can though....no drain in my shop as it was built without.

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Check out kraftomatic's thread. it would be simple to put a small sump in the pit.

ZRX61 said:

Funny looking ZRX......

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Troublemaker...

Nice Job

Beautiful!

Great set-up! Makes me want to go on the hunt for a bike lift

It would be easy to hate you, but you did have a Harley in the first pic so you get a pass.

Ive got the direct lift air over hyd, $950 with side plates and a jack. Its got a 69 shovel trike sitting on it.

Then i have the HF manual, that i paid $200 used for, its got a 79 shovel sitting on it.

I admire your install and if the day comes i decide to stay (lived here 22yrs) i will use yours as a blueprint for mine. Maybe a HF sump pump instead of drilling out the crete and piping it, just a thought.

Best to ya from balmy North Texas where a blue norther of 70 sumpn degrees has blowed in, last week 106 on the heat index, whew !!

ZRX1040 said:

Drop llift in and trim hole with a second 2X4 then cap with some 3x3x1/8" diamond plate which is now flush thanks to leaving the forms 1/8" low. Mount controls under the workbench.

Click to expand...

Looks really intact and very fit at every corner.
I am having the pretty the same project but struggling with making the table surface in-line with the floor.

I've seen a few of these done, but yours is especially nice. Well planned out and excellent attention to detail. Well done!

I am at the very early stages of laying out my shop, with the build being ground up, new slab, wiring, plumbing, etc. Essentially a clean sheet of paper. The reason I mention that, is I'd like to incorporate a bike lift and am wondering now that time has passed, would you do anything different? Pros and cons of sunk, etc.??

I'm a bike guy so don't imagine I'd need greater lifting capacity than what you have, but then again, I'm only doing this build one time. Suggestions?

Thanks

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Lost Patriot said:

I am at the very early stages of laying out my shop, with the build being ground up, new slab, wiring, plumbing, etc. Essentially a clean sheet of paper. The reason I mention that, is I'd like to incorporate a bike lift and am wondering now that time has passed, would you do anything different? Pros and cons of sunk, etc.??

I'm a bike guy so don't imagine I'd need greater lifting capacity than what you have, but then again, I'm only doing this build one time. Suggestions?

Thanks

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Check out the thread on my build. Went through the process and love it.

Great read. Thanks

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ekraft84 said:

Check out the thread on my build. Went through the process and love it.

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Ya, this guy *****!

He’s got some nice things though. Great idea for a floor lift.

Sorry for the delayed reply.... Didn't subscribe to my own threads. Duh.

VietHorse said:

Looks really intact and very fit at every corner.
I am having the pretty the same project but struggling with making the table surface in-line with the floor.

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Check the part where I made a drop in screed and see below.

Chateau Slate 66 said:

I've seen a few of these done, but yours is especially nice. Well planned out and excellent attention to detail. Well done!

Click to expand...

Thanks. For one I'd make it lower than needed, then shim lift up with some rubber pads. Keeps it up out of any wet runoff from the cars. Especially if your in a salty northern climate. Also make it a touch longer for this particular lift so the bolts for the drop outs don't hand if you forget to thread them all the way back in.

I have a drain in the center of the garage. Next time there will be one under each parking space. I hate stepping in salty sandy runoff between vehicles in winter.

I really like this install and will definitely plan on one in my shop in the future. Thanks for posting!

This is a totally cool idea! I might build one on the garage someday.

You did a beautiful job. It was especially clever how you used the pipe to make a passage under the slab for the air. Mine is electric so I want to do the same for the power wires.

I have a few questions:

Were the boards you formed with 2x6, 2X8, 2x10 or wider?

Also you fastened the form wood to the sides of the existing slab with split drives. Is there anything mechanically fastening the the new concrete slab you poured in the bottom to the upper existing garage floor slab?

Thanks in advance for your help!

UH, well, I havn't been on in a while. Don't know why pics aren't showing up. They're still in the same place? 2x12 frame. a few 16 p nails in the lower half of the frame to anchor the lower slab. Tamped the bottom hard before pouring, it's not going anywhere.

ZRX1040 said:

UH, well, I havn't been on in a while. Don't know why pics aren't showing up. They're still in the same place?

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A few years ago, they updated the site here with an SSL and forced external photo hosts to also have secure site certificates. Your images are on a site with a http:// link and they need an https:// link instead. Try pulling new photo links from Shutterfly, and I'd bet they work again.